Open Society Justice Initiative Hosts Pretrial Detention Workshop

LONDON—Today the Open Society Justice Initiative is hosting a two-day workshop entitled, "Lasting Change in Pretrial Detention: Recent Experiences in a Global Context." An important goal of the workshop is to advance a common and global ability to diagnose problems in pretrial detention and measure the impact of efforts to change pretrial detention practices. Workshop participants include pretrial detention experts and practitioners from Chile, India, Malawi, Mexico, Nigeria, Russia, South Africa, and the United States.

Workshop participants will discuss the use of common denominators in the design and evaluation of pretrial detention reform efforts in their countries. Participants will also be asked to produce a research paper on the impact of recent efforts in their country to improve practices related to pretrial detention. The goal is to deepen the global understanding of the types of problems with pretrial detention that exist, and also in broadening the repertoire of international advice and assistance that is available to governments and nongovernmental organizations interested in reform.

The workshop is part of a larger Justice Initiative project to develop and share new experiential knowledge about the reform of pretrial detention. In particular, to help those in the field working on pretrial detention reform better understand the impact of changes to the organization of detention hearings, and whether or not there are optimal ways of structuring the decision about release or detention.